Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs: Legalized gambling "a real plus to the sports field"

The fan experience is going to change at TD Garden next season in a variety of ways.

One is the progress of the enormous renovation project which includes an overhaul of the entrance to the building, news shops, restaurants, and other changes that amount to nearly two million square feet of property. A good chunk of it will be ready by October and should all be wrapped up by 2020.

“Well, our front door, so to speak, will be open in October,” chief executive officer Charlie Jacobs said. “I personally can’t wait. I think it’s dramatically changed – well, frankly, I think it’s created a new neighborhood. We’re no longer West Enders; we’re not part of the North End. I think we’re just the Hub. We aspire to have the best in-arena experience in both the NBA and National Hockey League.”

The other is a more messy matter, one not as tidy as the chic new furniture and modern concepts infiltrating the home of the Bruins and Celtics.

Sports betting is making its official foray into the public space, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday that will allow states to legalize gambling – something that previously was limited to the flashy lights and cheesy palm trees of Las Vegas casinos.

Sports gambling, while confined to Las Vegas, has still been prominent via online websites. The more accepted version is daily fantasy sports, where money is awarded for winning contests with players crafted into a specific lineup.

After the Supreme Court decision, the once hard-drawn line between sports and gambling is more blurred than ever. The most pressing thought is that the marriage of gambling and sports gives leagues and its respective owners another avenue to make money.

Based on Jeremy Jacobs remarks Wednesday, it seems clear that the Bruins owner is more than willing to get in on the action.

“States will be going back and forth whether they’re going to legalize it and then the rules and regulations around it,” Jacobs said. “That’s where, I think, we as a league have to step in in order to protect what we have our interest in it. There’s going to be, I think, substantial income at some point going to various jurisdictions. From the tax standpoint,from compensation to the various teams that are playing for it and the gamers, as we call it, or the people that are producing the games. Each will be fighting for their part of – or negotiating it. I think there will become a common interest.”

Follow the money, right?

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The United States is lagging when it comes to this topic. Gambling is prominent in other areas of the world such as Australian and Britain. Consider the simple fact that gambling companies can sponsor teams and advertise in stadiums freely, without anybody batting an eye.

Steve Wynn’s casino is going up quickly in Everett, but imagine the General Electric logo on the corner of the Celtics jersey replaced by the red and white Wynn logo? It seems far fetched, but the reality is that we may not be far from gambling being an intricate part of the sports experience.

When the Golden Knights expanded into Vegas, the thought of being able to gamble on the home team inside the arena seemed outlandish. Of course, you could always bet illegally online, but the idea of physically placing a legal bet was reserved for the smoky sports books in casinos. Fans can gamble on the Golden Knights on an MGM Resorts app. The option of placing a bet on the concourse at a live betting station after you bought a beer and a hot dog is the very real reality that’s not too distant.

“The interaction with your customers and the team is greater with it,” Jacobs said. “I mean, they’re just more interested in it. So, I think it will be a real plus to the sports field, but it has to be managed and controlled. I think that’s where the rub is going to be until we evolve a good relationship between the teams and the gaming interests. It will be a little rocky.”

That right there is where it gets tricky. The major sports leagues released statements following the Supreme Court decision, most of which addressed the integrity of the game and how they will think about the seismic change going forward.

Consider the way injuries are reported in the NHL, reduced to ambiguous “upper-and lower-body” designations.

When money is changing hands based on the outcome of the game, I’m not quite sure a “lower body injury” is going to cut it for all involved parties.

“There’s a lot that will have to be managed probably cautiously,” Jacobs said. “Everybody says well this is great, but the devil’s in the details with how this will evolve. We’ll learn a lot from what’s going in Australia and Britain.”

Just look at the NFL where injuries are openly discussed and assessed. Sure, Tom Brady is “questionable” when he’s all but virtually guaranteed to play, but at least you know his throwing hand isn’t held together by a glove the week…never mind, you get the point.

The obvious sticking point will be protecting the integrity of the game. I don’t expect Patrice Bergeron to place a wager on a prop bet pertaining to how many faceoffs he’ll win against the Canadiens, but the close proximity of sports and gambling makes that a topic that now needs to be addressed.

“I would think there would be a strong look at what’s happening and we’d certainly hope there’s a lot of integrity among the players,” Cam Neely said.

Over the next few months, more conversations about this are likely to take place. They'll be uncomfortable at times, too, but it's become increasingly clear that gambling will play a major part in the sports landscape, more so than it already does.